


Saving Scout

by JahStorybook



Category: Team Fortress 2
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Arrested, Canon-Typical Violence, Fluff, Framed for murder, Happy Ending, It also isn't dad spy, M/M, Murder, Short, Smut, THiS IS NOT INCEST, more tags as i write
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-17
Updated: 2019-06-17
Packaged: 2020-05-13 12:22:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,410
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19251130
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JahStorybook/pseuds/JahStorybook
Summary: When Scout gets framed for the murder of twenty seven men and women, he finds himself picked up and detained with Spy who, unwilling to part with the Scout, gets himself arrested as well.This will likely be split into two parts or more, unless I pick the idea up as a more serious story at some point.





	Saving Scout

It was a mistake. I shouldn’t have brought him off the base with me to this city, even for a day. How easily I succumbed to a little begging was pitiful, but even then there may have been a chance still, had I taken Scout and run far away instead of booking a room for the night when the sun set low, once more falling victim to his big eyes silently pleading with me to prolong the trip even just by a few hours.There were many things that I did wrong; things that were uncharacteristic of me. I shouldn’t have been so relaxed and off guard. It was all a big mistake, and I knew I’d pay the price.

We both would, I suppose.

* * *

The day had started off normal enough, I took a contract in New York and Scout had convinced me to take him with. We were close, more so than most of our teammates realized, and since I was a gentleman I caved under his begging in under an hour. What really did the trick wasn't even the begging, or so I tried to tell myself, it was that Scout would be lonely without me and taking him with just saved us both the trouble of worrying.

While I wasn't keen on having someone as loud as Scout along for the trip, I found it was actually quite enjoyable once we hit the road. We made good time from Goldrush to New York, the scenery changing drastically along the course of a day and a half. Fields of crops turned to highways and trees turned to skyscrapers.

My smoke drifted out my open window as I drove through busy streets, puffing up towards the sky and away from Scout who detested the smell and taste of cigarettes. 

"Scout, look up there," I said as I caught sight of the empire state building. Tallest building in New York for nearly forty years now. 

"I feel sick just looking at it. Is that where your contract is?" The blatant hope against hope in his voice made me smile, tossing my cigarette out the window and rolling it up.

"No, but I'm going to park here anyway. Wait here while I take care of this contract, alright Scout?" The loud groan and roll of his eyes was all for show, it was obvious that he didn't care as long as I didn't take too long. Even he was having a good time on this little break from the base. Pulling into an empty lot for a closed down restaurant, I paused to look around. "Dash, do you have your pistol?"

"What? Why would I need my pistol, there's hundreds of people around us, no one is going to try anything." Maybe, but I didn't want to take any chances, so I pulled my revolver out of it's holster and handed it to him. "Spy..."

"I will feel better knowing you have something to defend yourself with, Dash. Please, just take it and wait for me here." Knowing not to argue against that, Scout took the gun and quickly hid it under the seat, glancing around just to be sure that no one had seen. Obviously no one was parking by this decayed building. 

"Hurry up, alright? But be careful, too. Hurry up but don't screw around and get caught." As if I needed advice or instructions from him!

* * *

 

After it was done I returned to find Scout napping in my car, head in my set and feet in his, I pushed hiim over, slipping behind the wheel and starting the car. The ignition firing up woke Scout from his rest and he shot up, eyes alert.

"Whats dat! Oh, hey Spy, that took a while, everything go okay?" He looked around, noting the setting sun and fading light. "We should get a room and stay the night here."

"Nonsense, we need to be back by tomorrow." Scout chose then to pull out the charm, one of my few weaknesses. He had surprisingly innocent eyes that resembled a dog. Large and bright, happy and hopeful. My biggest mistake of the night, I decided, was looking over and falling for the same old trick. Looks like we were staying the night in New York.

Within the hour of getting to the hotel there was banging on the door, making Scout jump up to answer it unthinkingly. My next mistake was letting him unlock the door without checking who it was first, a folly I blamed on my distraction with the phone as I attempted to call the base and let them know we’d be back late.

The second the handle was turning it was too late and as I looked up at the door slamming open the room was being flooded with men in black vests, guns all pointed on me while Scout was wrestled to the floor with brute force, completely shocked at the intrusion. I raised my hands up, not yet understanding just how badly the situation was and staring in stunned silence as more than half the guns turned to aim at Scout when he started to struggle.

I knew I was close to being a wanted man. The second anyone discovered my past or connected the dots to a few assassinations of mafia and mob men that’d be it for me. I also thought I knew I was fixing to be arrested, that someone investigating me had made the connection, but they still weren’t approaching me. It was another mistake.

One man walked casually into the room, putting his gun away and pulling out his cuffs with a smug look on his face. This man I knew well.

“Well well, look who it is,” the new york cop said, keeping his eyes on me while he crouched down to pat Scout’s pockets and sides. When he found the small gun I'd given him earlier he nodded, handing it back to one of his swat members.

“Took you long enough to catch up to me,” I sneered, worried about the continued pressure they were applying to Scout on the floor, several men treating him as though he were more dangerous than a scrawny little Bostonian tooth pick. Such force wasn’t necessary and they knew it!

“Oh, I haven’t,” the cop assured me. “Yet,” he clarified, whistling and flicking his hand up to signal the men pinning mon lapin down. Scout was hauled off the floor and shoved against the wall, his hands being cuffed in the blink of an eye.

“What are you doing? Let him go and arrest me already,” I said calmly, becoming increasingly worried as they began reading Scout his rights.

“Not here for you today, Mr. Lefebre. Dash Carlton, you are here by under arrest for the murder of over twenty men.” My eyes grew wide and I heard Scout squeak out an astonished “WHAT” against the wall.

“He has done no such zhing!” My fingers itched to grab for the gun I had tucked neatly in it’s holster just inside my jacket. I didn’t have enough ammo in it to take out everyone in this room at once, or even enough to clear a path for Scout’s escape, but I was going to keep my options open either way. True to his word, no one was arresting me, or even coming near me. All eyes were on Scout, scared, intimidated, disgusted. Did they really believe he had it in him to commit murder? That this man could hurt a fly? It was infuriating that they so easily played their parts.

“We have several eyewitnesses that say he did, Louis, as well as photographic evidence submitted by a private investigator. The trial’s gonna be cut and dry, and I’ll be sure the prosecuting attorney pushes for the death penalty.” My blood ran cold, watching as they dragged Scout out. The death penalty. For Scout… I reached into my jacket, drawing my gun and aiming it at one of the officers pointing his weapon at me, shooting him in the arm just outside his vest. I dropped my gun immediately, falling to the floor before they could tackle me or kill me where I stood. The chaos that ensued was a mistake. Everything that happened after that day had been my mistake, and I would be kicking myself for years to come, I suspect.

* * *

Luckily it wasn’t straight to a penitentiary for us, and we were taken to a nearby precinct for questioning and detainment. I was allowed to make a phone call, to which I directed to the Administrator to sort some of this out. Uncertain of whether or not Scout got to make a call, I was worried he wouldn’t know a way out of this, so I instructed the admin to do what she could for him before me. Besides, the man I’d shot hadn’t even died and I doubt it’d be too difficult to slip out of the charges. I was a spy, afterall. Shortly after being thrown into a small holding cell, I heard the distinct sound of crying. Scout was nearby. When I tried to call out to him a cop had shown up and told me to keep it down, threatening to use that pitiful taser on me if I did not comply. One man with a tiny zapper I could take easily, I decided, continuing to call for Scout in the hopes that he’d hear and no I would not abandon him to what would likely be his fate after he was done being questioned.

At some point the crying stopped and I heard him being pulled from his cell. As hard as I tried to catch a glimpse of him, he was too far down the hall for me to see. Sighing and giving up, I sat down on the long bench in the cold room, hanging my head. Hopefully we wouldn't be here long, I thought to myself grimly.

* * *

As it would seem, I was only destined to spend a day in a half detained before the Administrator's puppet strings were pulled in my favor. All charges were dropped and I was being set free. The man standing outside of my cell with keys jingling in his hand looked bitter and betrayed, clearly not happy that I was being released after shooting a colleague. If he understood half of what I felt for Scout then he’d understand why I had to be in here with him, why I had to shoot that man. Frankly, I didn’t care if he understood or not, I had to form a plan before I was kicked from the precinct. Following the officer I seen nothing but two empty cells and one full to the brim of common thugs who’d likely been picked up for a multitude of reasons, ranging from theft to indecent exposure I’d wager by the looks of them. Scout must still be elsewhere being interrogated, I surmised. Nearing the end of the hall I heard the familiar shouting of a certain proud american, smiling. No wonder there weren’t many officers patrolling tonight, they had their hands full. The evidence room was being used to hold my belongings, and as I slipped into my jacket I noted that my watch was there still in my pocket. That would come in handy if I needed to bust into a room full of interrogators. Scout’s dog tags and hat were on a metal table by my stuff, easily within swiping range.

After I had secured all my items, as well as Scout’s, I turned to the cop, a smug grin on my face. Before he could react I had grabbed him and knocked him into the lockers. He crumbled down like a building that had lost its foundation, face bloody but he was breathing. After swiping the keys from his belt and pushing him to the back of the room I turned to the door, feeling the storm build inside of me. I was free, I just had to find where they were questioning Scout and get him out of here. Luckily the local jail’s holding cells weren’t as hard to get out of as an actual prison cell. Stepping out of the evidence room I made a run for it, sliding into the unpatrolled halls of the lockup. Most of the people in the cells were asleep, and the ones who weren’t didn’t pay me any real attention. I was armed, which probably helped to keep them quiet. I stopped at the end of the hall, realizing that Scout was no longer being questioned and was back in his own cell, curled up against the wall and quietly crying as he had the entire time he’d been here. Unlike the first night we spent in this awful place I hadn’t been able to hear his pained voice from outside the cell. Someone must have told him to keep it down, I thought, glowering at the boy despite it not being his fault..

“Scout,” I hissed quietly, unlocking the gate with the keys I’d taken off the unconscious officer. He looked up, his bloodshot eyes wide when he saw me coming into his cell. At first he fell back, confused, but as I neared he crawled to his knees, sitting up straight.

“Spy? How did you get out?” I grabbed his arm, pulling him up checking his face for any sign of hurt or pain. Other than the tears streaked down his face he appeared unharmed, for the most part.

“It doesn’t matter. Soldier is buying a few minutes for us right now, we need to move quickly.” Taking his hand I went to drag him with me only to have his entire body jerk back, nearly tripping us. I spun back to look at him, realizing that just for good measure they’d used shackles on his ankles and chained him to the cell floor. Something they only reserved for the most dangerous of criminals. They were intent on laying this act on thick, I’d give them that. The look that crossed Scout’s face was one unlike anything I’d ever see him make. Something I thought beyond his happy nature. He looked so defeated. Crushed now that he had seen a glimpse of freedom only to be caged back in.

“You need to go Spy, hurry and get out of here while you have the chance!” I took a step toward him, raising my hand to comfort him. He grabbed my shoulders, pulling me down to kiss me passionately and fiercely, defiantly even, as though it were his last meaningful action and by god he was going to make it count, before pushing me back. Shoving at my hands as I tried to come closer, Scout shook his head, eyes tearing up. “Now go! Please, go!” Catching his hands and pulling him tight against me, I shook my head, shocked but not entirely offended by his panicked actions.

“Shh, quiet you fool! I didn’t escape, I was released, and I’m not leaving without you! Why do you think I got myself in here in the first place,” I whisper-shouted, clamping a hand over his mouth and letting us sink to the floor. I couldn’t let that kiss distract me as I grabbed his ankle, jerking it into lap to view the first chain. I couldn’t break it, but I could pick the lock if I had time and focus. Scout had fallen back against the floor when I dragged his foot out and now he lay there, quietly sobbing and shaking his head.

“Need to go- you don’t have to- need to hurry and get out- no time for-” he was muttering, barely audible, his voice cracking on several occasions. I ignored him, pulling the keys out first to check if any of them would fit the lock. When none of them did I tossed them down, taking my knife out and setting to work on it. My thoughts were fuzzy but they all quieted down when I twisted and prodded, falling into the concentration that I had learned from years of practice. I had nothing else to help ease the lock open, so I had to be extra careful with my knife. When I finally popped the lock I heard a small gasp leave Scout’s lips. Grabbing for his other ankle I repeated the process, cursing under my breath as I had a harder time with this one. When it too came off, Scout was too shocked to move so I shot up, dragging him with me and saying nothing. There would be time for shouting and talking and making up later, for now I needed to get him out of here. I had my watch back now, and since I was being set free that meant I may be able to sneak out of here with little effort, so I slapped the watch on Scout’s wrist. I kept a discrete hold of him while I casually walked out pretending to fix my suit as though I just put it on. I got a few stares but no one dared to stop me, not after the strings I’d pulled to get out. If they knew what I’d done to the officer who released me they would all be on me within a second so I walked briskly, tapping Soldier as I passed him and giving him a nod. He stood straight, saluting me and ripping up the report he had been filling out. The man was a veteran and no one dared to question him, merely showing him as much respect as they could while politely hoping he’d leave quickly and stop making such a ruckus.

“I have changed my mind! Good day, fine american men and women!” He left out with me, clearly confused as to why he didn’t see Scout, eyes narrow but clearly upset. The second we were outside I seen the bread van pulled up in front of the jailhouse, sighing in relief. Scout could get in discretely and decloak the second we closed the door. I pulled the door open and seen that Engi was in the van as well. Ever the gentleman, I stepped aside to let Soldier in first, eyes scanning the street and sidewalk for anyone who may be watching. Heavy was up front in the driver seat, his face falling when he only seen me. How little faith these men had in me, I marveled. Carefully guiding the cloaked Scout into the back I got in and closed the door, letting out a shaky breath. The cloak fell and everyone jumped as Scout appeared, Soldier shouting jumbled phrase that didn’t make much sense. Engineer pulled him in for a hug, both of them laughing. Scout’s laugh was somewhat forced, more a relieved chuckle than his usual beautiful hysterical laugh.

“We made it,” he said shakily, going to remove the watch. I stopped him.

“Keep it on. If we’re tailed or get pulled over you may not have time to put it back on and cloak before someone sees you.” He nodded, falling back into one of the wide, center facing seats. I could see the torment forming on his face, and I knew it well. Sure, I’d rescued him from death by pulling him out of there, but now he was a fugitive. His trial was already bound to be lost but now he would be deemed guilty just for escaping. He’d be watching over his shoulder every time he left the base.

“Spy, did you hear me?” I glanced up, realizing Heavy was talking to me. “We can not take leetle Scout back to base with us. Him and Engi will be getting off somewhere else. Administrator has arranged for us to go to new base soon, Scout will go there now.”

“By myself,” Scout asked, holding his arms close to his chest, his fingers going to twist around his dog tags. When he didn’t feel them he froze, eyes snapping up as he remembered they’d been confiscated. The look of loss in his eyes was excruciating, but I was ready for this. I reached into my pocket and pulled the tags out, hanging them up before him with a warm smile. The relief on his face made me very glad I grabbed them. “Thank you,” he whispered, taking the tags carefully and pressing them against his chest. I just scored some major points for our next argument, I thought with a sense of pride. Of course, our next argument would be the second that we got a chance to talk alone, because I knew we both had a lot to yell at the other. Every passionate word Scout would yell that I would have once called crass crossed my mind, making me sigh. How he has changed me in these past few years that I now look forward to our scuffles in hopes that I’ll learn more about the man’s character

“It’d be a little suspicious if everyone packed up so soon after this mess, so they’ll need to stick around for a bit while things quiet down during your search. It will only be for a few weeks, and I’ll be with ya, kiddo,” Engi assured Scout, clasping the man on the shoulder. Scout nodded, too distracted to really care anymore now that he was holding his tags. I could see he was relieved Engi was going to be with him, though.

“Get us out of here,” I instructed, taking a seat next to the antsy runner and pulling his head onto my shoulder, offering a momentary sense of security if nothing else. Heavy started the van, not asking any questions.

* * *

About a mile out from the base we pulled onto a side road deep in the woods, finding a small camp set up with a teleporter whirling and humming quietly while the rest of the Red mercenaries stood around it waiting for us. Or, I guess, waiting for Scout and Engi. They’d be taking the pre-setup teleporter to the next base, and the rest of us would head back to 2fort to carry on like nothing happened. This was just a send off, I thought sadly. The turmoil of this past month had put us in a ceasefire, and losing two members would mean that we would have to find an alternative to our usual antics. The administrator was already under pressure having to get my charges for wounding an officer to disappear, I knew she couldn’t do anything about Scout’s case. Whoever framed him went through a lot of trouble to make sure that they cut the loose ends, leaving no bread crumbs for her to follow. Every picture coming from a hidden source, every statement from a protected outside voice. I would find them, it’s what I did best, but until then it was too dangerous to keep Scout here. So after Scout had hugged every other merc I approached him, taking his hand gently. I pulled it up and pressed a kiss to the back of it, shutting my eyes and leaving my lips there for a moment perhaps too long. After I was certain I’d memorized the feel of him I let go and pulled him in for one last embrace, knowing I wouldn’t have contact with him for days, at least, weeks if I was being optimistic.

“You’re going to a familiar base, we’ve been zhere plenty of times before, but I want you to find my office when you get zhere nonetheless. I’ll have your zhings sent zhere for you to settle in.” He gave me a look, eyes suspicious. “Trust me, you’ll be more comfortable in my bed.” Realizing what I was implying Scout looked almost star-struck, eyes big and full of surprise when I presented him with the key to my office. Just beside the office was a bedroom that I used, with a very nice bed and lots of room. Better than the cot Scout always slept in regardless of which base we ended up at.

“You’re really okay with me sleeping in your room? What if I break something?” I had no doubt that if there was anything of value still there it’d be broken or at least knocked over, however I never left behind anything of importance when we moved bases.

“I trust you, mon lapin, and it’s okay if you do,” I said instead, kissing his forehead. He nodded, taking a shaky breath as I stepped back. Engineer stuck his hand out, a simple gesture that I returned with respect. I tugged him in close before he could let go, though, lowering my voice so Scout wouldn’t hear but keeping my tone steady so as not to show how weak I truly felt.

“Please keep an eye on him.” He nodded, patting my shoulder. Engi went through the teleporter first, followed quickly by Scout who gave us all one last solemn look, eyes lingering on me for but a half second. As he passed through the port I sighed, my brave facade fading. Sniper joined me with an equally nervous and shaken look about him. This whole ordeal was messy and all of knew how easily the tides could turn against us if we weren’t careful.

“Been talking things over while you were gone, Administrator seems to think that by the end of the week it should be safe for the two of them to get one phone call each, give out some status updates.” For just a moment I was full of hope, then remembered that Scout would likely want to call his mother. Or one of his brothers to relay a message to her at least. It wouldn’t be fair for me to use up his one chance at socialization. Sniper seemed to understand what I was thinking and smirked a little. “Told Scout, already, just to keep the little gremlin from getting too depressed. First person he looked at was you, Spook.” I did not like that this filthy bushman was worming his way into my affairs, but I sensed that after all that he and Jeremy had been through he probably was just happy to help those who had helped him, Dash included.

“Thank you.” He nodded before leaving me to stand and stare at the teleporter longingly. 

"I'll see you soon, mon lapin," I whispered to empty air.


End file.
